Tax administration and Customs management reforms |19 May 2023

Minister Hassan leads high-level delegation on strategic mission to Australia

A high-level delegation, headed by the Minister for Finance, National Planning & Trade, Naadir Hassan, completed a strategic mission in Australia on tax administration and customs management reforms.

During the week-long mission, the technical delegation, which comprised the chairperson of the Seychelles Revenue Commission, Chrystold Chetty; the head of Customs at the SRC, Paul Barrack; the director general of Macro-Fiscal Division under the Finance Department, Yannick Vel, and Trade Consultant at the Department of Trade, Charles Morin, held 11 meetings with Australian officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Treasury Department, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Australian Border Force (ABF).

The key objectives of the mission were:

•           To firstly establish key contacts for long-term cooperation within the Australian ministries of Foreign Affairs and Treasury, as well as the ATO and ABF;
•           To explore options for educational scholarships and training opportunities for Seychelles on tax administration & customs management;
•           To identify areas and modes of technical assistance between the ATO, ABF and the SRC;
•           To share experiences and know-how on the development of key strategic areas of revenue administration and customs management, including workforce planning and human resources; and,
•           To identify and interview possible candidates for the post of Revenue Commissioner.

In the Australian capital, Canberra, Minister Hassan met with the Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister, Tim Watts, who is responsible for overseeing relations with the Pacific and Asian regions. The delegation also discussed key international relations issues with the First Assistant Secretary Ridwaan Jadwat and other assistant secretaries from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Also in Canberra, the minister attended the Australian Treasurer’s 2023-2024 Budget speech
at the Australia Parliament House.

Further meetings were held with the ABF on strategic workforce planning, structure and organisational professionalism, as well as on investigation and customs targeting systems, such as on small crafts and yachts. Meetings in Canberra concluded with a discussion and overview of Tax expenditure reporting, modelling, and analysis with the Ministry of Treasury, Revenue Analysis department.

In Sydney, meetings were held with senior ATO officials, and focused on key areas of internal audit procedures, data warehousing and IT infrastructure, the digitisation of tax processes, and strategic workforce planning and human resources. Central to these discussions was the identification and management of risks.

The mission concluded with a customs tour with the ABF at the Sydney cargo container examination facility which provided an overview of the methods, processes and equipment employed to detect the illegal importation of goods such as narcotics.

Minister Hassan has described the mission as ‘eye opening.’

“The efficacy of the Australian tax administration and customs management is of high standard. This visit to exchange and share expertise comes at an opportune time, as it is a priority for the government to bring about much needed reforms in our tax administration, boost efficiency in tax collection, processes and building the capacity of the staff of SRC and Customs. We now look forward in consolidating the newly established working relationship, especially with the ATO and ABF in order to enhance our engagement, in particular on a technical level.”

The accompanying photos show the Seychelles delegation in Australia.

Press release from the Ministry of Finance, National Planning & Trade